“One Night”
By: Luis Huerta
Book I
Just Another Day
Chapter I: “The Roof”
The quiet neighborhood is all asleep. It is 1 a.m., and the streets are alone, the lights are off in every home, except for Tony’s. The living room lights are on, the white curtains closed, yet, you can see the silhouette of a man and a woman frantically waving. You hear shouting, screaming, cursing. Inside that house Tony’s parents are fighting again. They don’t even notice their son isn’t home.
Tony sits on the roof, tears roll down his russet cheeks. The midnight air gently hits his face, his hair sways. He looks up at the moon and lets out another sob, then he looks at the other homes. Tony imagines families asleep, happy, peaceful families, loving families. He grabs his sweater and wraps it around himself. He curls up into a ball, and sleeps.
Chapter II: “Run”
Tony awoke the next morning to the sound of a loud car horn. He looked out into the street, and saw it was one of his neighbors getting picked up for work. He checked the time, it was 6:40. He jumped of the roof; he was rather athletic so the jump was easy for him. He went to the window of his room and hopped in. he stood there for a moment, motionless. He stared at his room, these small four walls that confided him. This prison. The walls were an off-white, matching the carpet, his desk, and closet. His bed had mint and lime green sheets, his favorite colors, and the only hint of happiness in his drab white room.
He grabbed some clothes and headed for the shower. He turned the water on, letting it run a bit so it could get steaming hot. He looked in the mirror, he saw himself. A small boy of 15 years. He had light brown skin, jet black hair, and piercing green eyes. He smiled, he looked normal, no bruises, no scars, and no acne, within seconds his face vanished in a fog; he took off his clothes and got in the shower. The water was scalding but Tony didn’t feel it burn. He let it hit his back, and slowly unknot his tense muscles. He was thinking about his parents, and their failed marriage, he thought about his running and how it calmed him. He thought about his music, and then he started to sing. His whole house was filled with a sweet melody, a haunting melody, of of divorce, one of betrayal. The song was that of a child from a broken home.
Tony finished his shower, changed, and started running, top speed, all the way to school. He ran past children, adults, dogs, cats, parks, hospitals, and thousands of stores. They were all a blur, a colorful, vivid blur. Then he got to school, and he stopped running, he stopped breathing. He took a deep breath, looked up into the sky and thought, this is just another day. He was wrong.
Chapter III: “Just Another Day”
Tony walked into the stone building. He saw many familiar faces, those of kids he had known all his life, yet no one said hello, no one said a word to him. No one talked to Tony, no one noticed him, not his peers, his teachers, or his parents for that matter. No one seemed to care.
He walked into 1st period. He sat all the way in the back of the classroom. Soon the rest of the class walked in. the classroom was big enough for 30 people yet the class had 34 students. All around the class you could see pictures of different household objects with an English-Spanish translation. The teacher stepped in.
“Hola class.” said the tall man. He had broad shoulders, 5’oclock shadow, light brown hair, and soft humble blue eyes.
“Hoy es un nuevo dia, y hoy vamos a aprender bien mucho.” said the teacher.
“Ummm, Señor Espinal, ummm, can you, translate that?” asked a student on the far left corner of the room.
“Yes, of course Mr. Banks, it’s a pleasure. I said, today is a new day, and today we will learn a lot. I believe it sounds better in Spanish.” smiled Mr. Espinal.
“Agreed.” said Thomas Banks, the star football player, well one of them thought Tony.
Mr. Espinal started the lesson, and Tony didn’t pay much attention. He was thinking of whether or not to go to the football game. He had nothing better to do, and he really didn’t want to go home. As Tony was making up his mind the bell rang, he got up and was the first one out the door. He heard Mr. Espinal call him, but he just walked away. He sort of just shut himself out, for the rest of the day he just went by, until 6th period.
Chapter IV: “Sing Baby, Sing”
Tony walked into the Fine Arts building, his favorite building, with a hint of a smile on his face. His last class always made him happy, he loved to sing, he loved music. He walked into the choir room and for the first time that day said hello to someone.
“Good afternoon Mrs. Davis.” said Tony
“Hello baby.” said Mrs. Davis, the choir instructor. She was a beautiful woman, a strong, southern woman. Her voice was subtle and sweet, and her smile could light up Madison Square Garden.
Tony simply smiled and sat down in his section. There weren’t many guys in choir, Tony was one of four. Only he showed up to class today. Then they began to sing. They sounded beautiful, like a room full of angels singing a sweet melody to their savior. They sang in perfect harmony, and any, and everyone that passed by stopped a minute to enjoy their beautiful sound. Then class was over, and everyone left, except for Tony.
“Yes Tony?” asked Mrs. Davis.
“I, I, I don’t want to go home.”
“Its ok, you can stay here, you want to sing anything?”
“Yeah, I’ve been working on something.” said Tony.
“Sing it.” smiled Mrs. Davis nodding her head towards the piano.
Tony walked up to the piano; he started playing a slow melody. It was soft, it was sad, it had an eerie feel to it, and then he began to sing.
Divorce seems to be the latest trend
Children’s homes and heart’s broken
No they can’t mend
Can you promise me a home, can you promise me a life,
Of my own?
When the fight gets tough, where will I go?
I’m alone…I’m alone
“That was, sad, but beautifully sung.” said Mrs. Davis, a tear in her hazel eye slowly rolled down her chocolate brown skin.
“I, I’ve been writing stuff lately, a lot of stuff, it all turns into song.”
“Great song and beautiful music.” said Mrs. Davis.
“Ummm, I’ll go now, I need to get something to eat, I haven’t eaten today.”
“You do that, have a good day.” said Mrs. Davis.
“Good Day.” smiled Tony.
Chapter V: “The Monster”
Tony walked out of school and headed towards the gas station. He got a bottle of water and an apple. That would be his lunch. He didn’t eat much. He paid and walked towards the library. On his way, he stumbled onto some guys from school.
“Hey! Tony! What’s up!” exclaimed a tall blonde boy by the name of Phillip.
Tony began walking away, “Hey! Don’t ignore me!” yelled Phillip, with a hint of frustration in his voice. He had a bottle of vodka in one hand, and a Monster in the other. Phillip was drunk, and was on a caffeine rush.
“Why are you,” hiccup “ignoring me!” screamed Phillip.
“I,I,I gotta go!” yelled Tony, and he ran.
“Wimp.” murmured Phillip, and then he burped and walked away, stumbling on every other step.
Chapter VI: “The Game”
Tony ran, and ran, until he finally ended up on the football field. He sat on the top bleacher, on the farthest corner. He took a deep breath, and closed eyes. The game will start in an hour or so, he thought. He laid down his head to rest, and fell asleep.
“Kid wake up.” said a woman who was cleaning the trash on the bleachers.
“Huh?” replied Tony, a bit disoriented.
“The game’ll start in a few, you should be awake, so they won’t do somin to ya.” said the woman, her voice had a strange accent.
People from school started arriving a few minutes later, and a few from other schools, all just to watch this game. A bunch of oversized guys running around after a ball, thought Tony, wow. Halfway through the game Tony had an urge to use the restroom. He walked there and noticed a different smell, but not the one you get when approaching a public restroom. As he opened the door he saw two guys from the opposing school getting high. As he turned away a guy grabbed him and said,
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I didn’t see anything! I swear! I won’t tell anyone.” said Tony, sounding rather paranoid, fear heavy in his voice.
“Don’t go out, you want some?” asked the guy who grabbed him.
“No thanks.” replied Tony, sitting in the far left corner of the small restroom.
“Come on, it don’t hurt, just do it.” said the other guy, as he took a big puff of his blunt.
“No, really, I’m good.”
“Come on, you ain’t goin no where, just do it.” said the guy who had grabbed him.
“I’m not sure.” said Tony.
“It’s your first time huh?” said the boy with the blunt, he handed it to Tony.
Tony finally gave in. He didn’t really care anymore. He had always wanted to try it anyway, and one time doesn’t really matter. Tony put the blunt to his lips, he took a puff, and held it in. He exhaled, and his head spinned. All the stress, all the thoughts seemed to disappear. He felt separated from his body, from the world. He took another puff. He felt good. He got up and left, the other guys didn’t care, as long as Tony was high, they wouldn’t get in trouble. He headed home. Everything seemed so beautiful, nothing could go wrong.
Book II
A Ball
Chapter VII: “The Fight”
It was 20 minutes to 1am when Tony stumbled into his house. The house was quiet, strangely quiet, but Tony didn’t notice. He was to buzzed to notice anything. He walked through the hall and opened the door to his room, to his surprise his parents were sitting in his bed. They seemed to be getting along. Tony thought it must be part of his trip; his parents were never this nice to each other.
“Antonio Flores, what the hell were you thinking? Why are you home this late!” exclaimed Tony’s father, a tall brown man with black hair, black eyes, and tight lips.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? Sorry! That’s what you gotta say! What kind of crap is that?” exclaimed his father; his anger was evident in his voice and face.
“Look, I don’t feel like this tonight, ok? I never do anything to get you guys angry, I’m tired, let’s talk about it tomorrow.” said Tony.
“What! Who do you think you are coming home at one o’clock in the morning, and telling me you don’t feel like talking,” he stopped and stared into Tony’s eyes, “have you been drinking!” yelled his father, smelling the air around Tony’s face.
“No! you’ve been smoking. Que estas asiendo fumando!” said his father.
“Why do you care! You’ve never cared before, you two are always too busy fighting to give damn about me. So just leave me alone, and get out of my room!” yelled Tony, surprised by his own words.
“What! Your room? It’s my house, and as long as you live under my roof you listen to what I say. I told you never to do that, I don’t want a pothead under my roof!”
“Fine then! I’m leaving!” screamed Tony.
“Then get out, just don’t come crawling back.”
“I don’t need you.”
“Then go!”
Tony ran out the door, he let out the tears he had been hiding from his father. He didn’t know what to do, or where to go so h just kept on running. Everything was blurry from the tears so he stopped running. he dropped against a wall. He sobbed for a while, letting much of the bottled up tension out. A bus pulled up and he got on, not paying attention to the destination. He had now where to go, he just knew he had to get out of here. He dozed off after a while.
Chapter VIII: “The Ball”
“Wake up kid, its 3a.m.” said the bus driver.
“Wha, huh, oh, sorry.” replied Tony.
“I have to leave the bus at the station, so this is where you get off.”
“Ok, thanks.”
Tony got off the bus and walked around, he didn’t have the slightest idea where he was. He kept on walking until he stumbled upon a club named “The Ball”. It said open, so he walked in, the security was too busy flirting with some girl to ask for an I.D. He wondered who would be at a club at 3 in the morning. He was surprised to see the dance floor full. He saw a sign with the club hours, it read:
The Ball
Monday-Thursday 7:00p.m-2:00a.m.
Friday 12:00-5:00a.m.
Saturday 10:00p.m-4:00a.m.
CLOSED SUNDAYS…
He headed towards the bar, he was very hungry, a side-effect to the drugs. He nibbled on some peanuts, and ordered a coke. He faced the dance floor, it was full of people, and flooded with vivid neon colors. The strobes were hypnotizing, and so was the music. Everyone was dancing to Lady Gaga’s “LoveGame”. Suddenly a girl approached him out of the blue.
“Wanna dance?” asked the girl.
She was about 5’6, had blonde hair, brown eyes and plump red lips. She was wearing some kind of designer mini dress and red pumps. She looked good, and the way she approached him, and the way she carried herself showed she knew she was.
“No thank you.” replied Tony.
She looked rather confused, then she walked away.
“I’ve had my eyes on her all night, and she comes up to you, asks you to dance, and you say no!” exclaimed a guy standing near Tony at the bar.
“Not interested.” said Tony. He genuinely wasn’t interested. He was always to busy thinking about other things to give his sexuality much thought, but he knew he wasn’t attracted to women. He didn’t really know what to call himself, gay, bi, curious, or confused. He really didn’t care.
“How could you not be interested? Well never mind that, hi, my name is Joe”
“Hi, my name is Tony”
“You’re not from around here are you?”
“No, well, uh, it’s a long story, but I guess I’ll be staying around here now.” said Tony.
“We got nothing but time.”
“But we don’t even know each other.” said Tony.
“If you’re gonna live here you’re gonna need some friends. I’ll be your first one.” said Joe.
That was a funny thought to Tony. The idea of friends, ones he never had.
“You have trust issues.” laughed Joe, “bartender! Two shots of Patron, looks like we’re gonna have a long night.” yelled Joe.
“I don’t wanna drink” said Tony.
“Come on! It’s not bad…but it’s not good either.” laughed Joe. It seemed Joe was drunk already. Tony took one shot, and one became two, and so on. He told himself it didn’t matter anymore. The night went on, and the guys partied, Joe even got Tony to fess up about why he why he was there. They agreed that Tony would stay with Joe. The both had a great time at “The Ball”, Tony even danced with a few guys, he really opened up, and for the first time in a long time had fun.
Chapter IX: “Rebirth”
It was 6a.m when Tony and Joe arrived at Joe’s house.
“Do you live alone?” asked Tony
“No, it’s my mom’s house, shhh, she’ll be asleep.”
Joe opened the door and he was surprised to see his mom sitting there in the living room, wide awake.
“Joseph Parker! What were you thinking coming home this late? I told you 1a.m. Why don’t you listen? You had me worried.” said Joe’s mom.
“Sorry I got caught up and didn’t pay attention to time.” said Joe.
“I sent your father out looking for you!”
“He is not my father! I, I, I’m going to my room!” replied Joe, as he ran up to his room.
“Who are you?” asked Joe’s mother.
“I’m sorry Mrs. Parker, I’m a friend of Joe’s, I needed a place to stay, that’s why he came late.” said Tony, trying to cover for Joe.
“My name isn’t Mrs. Parker, it’s Mrs. Smith, Parker is Joe’s Father’s surname. Please, do sit.”
“Oh, that’s what he meant by not my father?” asked Tony rather awkwardly, knowing the obvious answer.
“Yes. It hurts him; I forget his father died, horrible accident when he was 10. What happened? Why do you need a place to stay?” asked Mrs. Smith rather quizzically.
“I came into a disagreement with my own father, and he kicked me out. I’m sorry for causing you any trouble, I’ll bee leaving now.”
“No! Heavens no, you have caused me no trouble.” said Mrs. Smith.
“If it weren’t for me Joe wouldn’t have been home so late.”
“He is always late. You are not to blame. I am. Well, you should get some rest, umm, what’s your name?”
“Tony.”
“Very well then Tony, follow me.”
Tony followed. That night he slept in a strangers bed. He remembered thinking that yesterday was going to be just another day. Boy, he was so wrong he thought. Tony stayed with Joe’s family for the next week, he confided in them, and got to know them. They had a natural chemistry, and soon he realized what it felt to be loved. After a conversation with Mrs. Smith on what to do, they agreed that emancipation would be best. Since Joe’s behavior had changed dramatically with Tony’s presence, and the family liked him, Mrs. Smith promised him a place in their home.
Chapter X: “Intervention”
Tony took a bus to his ex-home. It was 10:30p.m when he arrived on the haunted street of his old home. He saw a man and a woman frantically waving. He knocked on the door and it slowly opened.
“Tony?” said his father.
“Yes.” replied Tony.
“I knew you’d come crawling back.”
“Well as always your wrong. I’m here to tell you that I’m taking this to court. I’m getting emancipation from you two.”
“What? A What?” asked his father.
“I’m getting a legal separation from you two, you will no longer be my legal guardians.”
“You can’t do that!” yelled his father
“See you in court.” said Tony, as he walked away.
A smile the size of a watermelon stretched across his face.
Epilogue
One Month Later
The quiet neighborhood is all asleep. It is 1a.m, and the lights are off in every home, even Tony’s. Inside that house is Joe’s family, which has become Tony’s new family. They are asleep, and don’t notice Tony isn’t inside.
Tony sits on the roof as a tear rolls down his russet cheek. The midnight air gently hits his face, his hair sways. He looks up at the moon and smiles. He looks at the other homes and doesn’t care whether the people in there are loving or not, because he knows the people in his home are. He smiles again and wipes the tears of joy. He curls into a ball and sleeps…
